The Simplest of Hopes
by Shadow Of Castiel
Summary: Castiel needs something in Mexico and Dean and Sam travel with him. Rated M for adult content. Dean/Castiel.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**: This was inspired by a recent dream that I had. It seemed too good a plot to waste, so wrote it.

**The Simplest of Hopes** by _Shadow of Castiel_

"What's up with the what now?" Dean asked, large green eyes turned up to face Castiel's intense blue ones, trained on his own, with fire and heat heavy within them.

"An amulet, a very powerful one, has been located in Calukmul," Castiel replied, gruff voice grave, as he sat on the bed across from the hunter, lips pursed primly as he settled. "I found out about it a few days ago and I think it might help in the search for my Father."

Once more he reminded Dean of a great bird settling its feathers around its body when Castiel smoothed his coat around his knees, and settled down upon the bed gently. Castiel looked as calm, collected and unruffled as usual, face expressionless, plump lips parted as he breathed, large eyes taking in his surroundings before settling on Dean once more.

"Where the hell's Calukmul, dude? Is that Africa?" Dean asked, blinking with confusion. "I'm not going to Africa with you, father or no father. I hate flying."

"No, it's not in Africa, Dean. It's in Mexico, the Yukatan Peninsula to be exact," Sam replied, over Castiel's shoulder, voice slightly muffled as he pulled on a t shirt over his head.

"Mexico? You wanna go to Mexico for some piece of jewellery? What the hell for again?" Dean asked, turning his frown from his brother to his lover in growing consternation. "You do realize burritos make my brother gassy don't you?"

Castiel turned his gaze to Sam, a hint of a smile curling the corners of the angel's mouth, warming the solemn lines of his face and making him seem more human.

"Yeah, yeah, you can laugh, Cas," Sam said, swiping at the angel's shoulder, in a friendly fashion. "You wait til you try some, then see who's laughing."

"I think I'll pass," Castiel replied, gravely. "I don't think Dean will let me share the bed if I did. I don't want to be kicked out of Dean's bed. I like it there."

Dean blushed, coughed in sudden embarrassment as he turned away, uncertain as to quite what to do with himself next. Sam was laughing at Castiel's honesty, all too used to the idea of what the lovers did with each other to even be concerned with his candour. He was also used to Castiel being unfailingly honest with everything he said, unfamiliar with the concept of a filter between his brain and his mouth to phase out the more private things that went on between him and Dean.

"Okay, Cas, I get the point," Sam said, sitting down beside the angel, before Castiel could go any further.

Castiel smiled, head tilted curiously as though he wasn't sure what he'd said to deserve such hilarity and embarrassment, but the moment passed, swallowed by Dean who changed the subject rapidly.

"So, this Calcutta place," Dean said, clearing his throat loudly.

"Calukmul, Dean, not Calcutta. That's in India," Sam corrected, with a smile. "Calukmul is a Mayan ruin, in South America."

"Hey, I remember those dudes. They're supposed to have disappeared without a trace, weren't they?" Dean asked, scratching at the back of his head in sudden discomfort.

"A popular misconception, Dean," Sam replied, with a smirk at his brother. "They're still there, populating the Mayan area, or rather their descendants are. I don't think a whole civilization can disappear without a trace, do you?"

"The dinosaurs did," Dean pointed out, lips pouting out as though he wanted the last word.

Sam stared pointedly at him, barely blinking and making Dean shift in ever growing discomfort beneath his brother's withering stare.

"Oh well, never mind, bitch," Dean replied, deciding to change the subject and draw the focus of his brother's disdain away from him for a moment. "Calukmul. What's the deal, then, Cas?"

"I told you. There's an amulet there that could help in the search for God. I need it to strengthen your amulet. It's not strong enough on its own, as I haven't found God with it yet," and Castiel trained his intense gaze upon Dean's face, tenderness in his eyes suddenly.

His slender fingers traced the outline of Dean's amulet beneath the white confines of his shirt, and Dean paused, missing the absence of his amulet keenly, yet feeling touched that Castiel had chosen to wear it himself, instead of stuffing it aimlessly in his pocket. His gaze flicked up to Castiel's, smiled at the angel before him and reached out to pat his lover's knee in an awkward gesture.

"So? What are we waiting for?" Dean asked, standing as though determined to leave that very minute.

"Wait. What?" Sam asked, looking up at his standing brother from where he still sat beside Castiel. "Hang on a minute, Dean. A minute ago, you didn't know where Calukmul was, and now you're ready to travel gung ho into unknown waters the minute your boyfriend touches your amulet?"

"Yeah, something like that," Dean replied, rolling up a pair of jeans to push to the bottom of his bag.

Sam remained silent as he stared at Dean, in confusion. Dean looked up at him, eyebrows raised as he shrugged.

"What?" he asked, gaze flickering to Castiel's serene face beside his brother's. "Cas wants the amulet. If it's gonna help him find his dad, I'm gonna help him."

Sam turned to look at Castiel, but the angel remained as unreadable as ever.

"Sometimes, it's like I don't even know you, Dean," Sam said, finally standing and moving to push his own clothes into his bag. "I bet if I suggested doing something like this, you'd argue til you were blue in the face."

"That pretty much sums it up, yeah," Dean replied, with a smug smile at Sam.

"Gee, thanks, dude," Sam replied, sour notes pinching his face and pouting his lips out in dissatisfied lines.

"You love it, Sammy," Dean replied, gruffly, making Castiel smile once more at the brothers easy exchange.

His large blue eyes turned from Sam's face to Dean's, trust and beguiling innocence held within them, making Dean smile. The hunter leant down to press a kiss to Castiel's soft mouth on his way past, making Sam turn away to hide his smile. He didn't want his smile to be misconstrued; really, he thought Dean and Castiel made the perfect couple, as though they were two halves of the one whole.

Then he turned back and said - "You still have to fly to Mexico, Dean. We're in Dallas, don't forget."

"No, we don't. We can go by angel airways, right, Cas?" Dean asked, glancing quickly at Castiel as he continued pushing bundled clothing and weapons into his bag.

"As you wish, Dean," Castiel replied, serenely, eyes planted firmly upon Dean and taking in every one of the hunter's movements as though filing them away for future reference.

"I can always eat some burritos to loosen the bowels when we get there," Dean replied, with a wry smile, thinking that Castiel's angelic form of travel wasn't always forgiving on the human body.

"Huh?" Sam asked, staring at his brother from where he stood by his own bed.

"Never mind, long story," Dean replied, turning away with a small chuckle.

Sam didn't press the issue, even though Dean's off the wall statement really didn't make sense to him. Castiel waited serenely, silent, watchful, patient until Dean and Sam were packed. When they both were ready, he stood, pressed both his palms to their foreheads and spirited them away without warning on wings of shadow, shifting light pressing at eyeballs, wind rushing past limbs and then blank nothingness.

-tbc-


	2. Chapter 2

The scents and sounds of heavy rainforest surrounded them in cloying waves, accompanied by almost brutal heat. Dean had long since removed his jacket and shirt, leaving behind his t shirt, wondering if he should remove that too. Sam was still wearing his shirt over his t shirt and a pinched, uncomfortable expression on his face. His hair was dripping with rain and with sweat, hanging into his face in wet, thick strands, dripping water into his eyes.

Castiel looked serene as always, unaffected on the outside as he usually did, but even he hadn't escaped the heat from the rainforest either. The humidity had gotten to him enough for him to remove his trademark tan coat, which Dean had always suspected was sewn onto his body with the frequency Castiel wore it. The dark suit jacket beneath it soon joined the tan coat draped over the angel's arm, revealing a wet shirt beneath it, sticking and clinging to the angel's borrowed body. Dean tried, and failed, not to notice this fact, admiring Castiel's slender frame that was capable of so much power, so much tenderness, frail human body juiced up by the angel riding it, even at half power.

Castiel in turn noticed Dean's muscular body pressed tight beneath the hunter's dark t shirt, stared at the way his jeans clung to his hips, and rode down low on his ass, revealing Dean's boxers and scraps of exposed skin every time Dean moved. Every so often their gazes met, caught, knowing full well that they'd just caught each other in the act of checking each other out. Each time, they'd both turn away, smiling, blushing slightly in the case of Castiel.

Sam remained markedly oblivious to the sexual tension hanging thick and heavy between the lovers, too intent on beating a way through the dense underbrush in an attempt to clear a path for them all. Dean almost tripped over a well hidden, yet upraised tree root, saved from smashing his face into the ground by Castiel's sure hand reaching out to steady him.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean murmured, feeling the first splashes of rain falling onto his head once more after a fifteen minute respite.

"You're welcome," Castiel replied, gruff voice seeming deadened by the humidity and the heat soaked rain now hammering down on their heads.

Dean steadfastly clung to Castiel's hand, making the angel's eyes crinkle at the corners in a barely repressed smile, and the angel's slender fingers closed around Dean's tightly. Dean smiled in turn, nudging his lover gently with his shoulder until Castiel turned bright blue eyes back to his once more. Dean stole a kiss from Castiel's soft mouth, a brief brushing of lips against responsive lips as they walked, almost bumping into Sam in the process, who'd stopped.

"Guys, can you hear that?" Sam asked, not seeming to have noticed the almost collision that had almost occurred.

"No, Sammy, what is it?" Dean asked, a little grumpy over the fact his kiss had gone disturbed by his brother.

Castiel listened, head tilted to the side, brow furrowed in extreme concentration, making Dean smile with affection at his lover. He looked for all the world like an attentive puppy, eyes intent on something unseen, lips puckered into a firm pout as he listened.

"It's so silent," Castiel said, sounding distant, eyes more so, as he continued to listen.

"Yeah," Sam replied, eyes squinting through the rain into the trees ahead, wondering if there was still way to go through or whether it was even safe to press on. "I don't like it; it's unnatural."

He turned dark eyes onto first Dean, then Castiel, as though wanting to check out the reason behind the silence and tension held his body in its sway.

"Maybe we should take a look," Castiel confirmed Sam's unspoken question.

Sam nodded wordlessly without replying, dark eyes scanning the trees around them as though expectant of attack at any minute.

"Good idea," Dean replied, distantly, as he leant in to kiss Castiel's ear gently. "Might be something, might be nothing,"

He nibbled at Castiel's earlobe, pulling the soft flap into his mouth, knowing full well what he wanted to do with Castiel in the meantime. Judging by Castiel's eyes fluttering closed and the way he remained close to Dean without pulling away, indicated the angel wouldn't turn down any overtures from Dean either. Castiel felt Dean's arms slide around his waist, wet t shirt clinging to a well muscled body and pressing the wet shirt against his more slender frame in wet stripes.

"Oh get a room, you guys," Sam groused, turning round and catching their intimate pose, trying to hide a smile at his incorrigible brother and his boyfriend. "Take your mind out of the gutter, Dean, you're dirtying an angel there."

"Shut up, bitch. He likes it. Notice he's not pulling away," Dean observed, voice tickling against the wet skin of Castiel's neck.

"Yeah, shut up, jerk," Sam replied, not being able to think of a better response for his brother's words.

Castiel's misty smile appeared, eyes slightly glazed from Dean's amorous attentions still ongoing, as the hunter's hand dipped down to snag against the angel's belt. Sam snorted and quickly walked away, looking for a quiet place to shelter from the rain, to look for possible intruders far away from horny men in the trees. He found a place to perch beneath overhanging rocks in a nearby rock formation, unsurprised when neither Dean nor Castiel joined him. He shook his head and dashed the water from his hair, passing one large hand over his face to wipe away excess water. He settled back against the rocks behind him, watching the rain fall in a perpetual stream, content to wait out the worst of the weather or until the lovers returned.

Sam was betting the rain would stop before Dean finished up with Castiel. He only hoped that whatever was causing the unsettling silence wouldn't get to him before Dean and Castiel returned from their lovers sojourn.

-tbc-


	3. Chapter 3

Dean checked furtively behind him, saw that Sam was crouching beneath a temporary rock shelter, before pulling Castiel off to one side, behind the relative safety and privacy of a large tree, that also managed to provide minimal shelter from the rain. He fumbled wordlessly, eagerly at Castiel's belt, working the leather free from the buckle and unzipping the pants swiftly.

He pushed Castiel's pants down with the angel's help, dark boxers soon following suit before Castiel turned around to face the tree, forearm braced against the rough bark, ass pointed out to face Dean, legs spread in invitation. Dean ran hands and eyes over his lover's body, fingers lingering over his exposed ass gently, before removing his own jeans and boxers eagerly.

Dean's dick was hard and aching, standing proudly from his body and curling up towards his wet t shirt, flushed and wet from the rain. He leant in, nipped Castiel's ear between his teeth once more, enjoying the harsh, throaty moan that Castiel allowed to leak from his throat. Dean looked down and saw Castiel's erection, knew that the angel wanted him. Dean bit Castiel's ear once more, transferring his teeth to the angel's neck and marking him, before holding his fingers to the rain and letting them get soaked.

He pressed his fingers against Castiel's hole, heard the angel's breathy moans raging ragged in his throat as Dean eased a finger inside him to stretch him still wider, looser, prepared him for Dean himself. Castiel's gasps came thick and fast as he rocked back onto Dean's hand, fucking himself on Dean's fingers eagerly when the hunter added a second.

Castiel's eyes were open but blind to everything, feeling only that which he most wanted. He moaned when Dean eased his fingers away, soon replaced by the larger surface of Dean's dick easing slowly into him, wet from the rain. Castiel whimpered at the pain that coursed through him, felt Dean pause and wait out the tension that wound Castiel's body down tight, before the tension eased, allowing Dean to fully sheathe himself inside his lover.

Castiel's chest rose and fell, another broken moan easing past parted, plump lips, as Dean started to thrust slowly into him, erratic movements at first soon picking up and smoothing out into something more intense, rigorous, pleasurable for them both. Dean groaned when he felt Castiel's body so responsive beneath his own, rocking back into Dean's body every time that the hunter withdrew, groaning every time that Dean pounded back into him again.

The rain poured down upon them, leaking past the minimal shade thrown out by the tree above, soaking them still further, but neither cared. All they could feel was each other, all they could hear was each other, as they writhed and fucked against a large tree trunk.

Dean's thrusts turned insistent, heavy, hips slapping heavily against Castiel's the closer he came to completion, moans growing broken and ragged in his throat as he pleaded to come. Castiel's hand wrapped around Dean's, pulled his fingers from his hip to wrap around Castiel's thick shaft eagerly. Dean let Castiel set the pace, already knowing just what Castiel liked, how he liked to be touched but giving him control anyway.

Castiel grunted, eyes blown wide with desire as he fucked himself onto Dean's dick and forward into Dean's hand, feeling like he was getting fucked two ways by Dean. His mouth opened and his grunts turned into cries, falling sharp and insistent from his parted, plump lips the closer he came to completion.

Dean groaned, loved the feel of Castiel's dick firm and heavy in his hand, the feel of Castiel's tight, warm channel snug against his own dick, loved the sounds that Castiel was making and all from the things that Dean was doing to him and with him. His hips dragged harder against Castiel's and he thrust deeper into his lover, hitting his prostate over and over again until Castiel came with a ragged scream of Dean's name, coating his hand with his spend and leaving traces of his love on the tree before him.

Dean felt the tremors of Castiel's climax tightening his channel against his dick still further, pulling his orgasm full force from his body and he emptied his seed into Castiel with a scream of his lover's name. Their bodies continued to writhe as they rode out the last of their orgasms, until Dean withdrew, already soft member pulling easily from Castiel's ass.

Castiel leant against the tree in front of him, forehead feeling clammy and strangely cold in the heat, eyes fluttering closed as a sated smile decorated his ripe mouth gently. Dean leant in, fingers resting lightly upon Castiel's hips, as he pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to his lover's cheek, enjoying the aroused scent still clinging to Castiel's skin. The angel turned and pressed a kiss to Dean's firm mouth, loved the feel of his lover so close and responsive to him, lips lingering against one another as tongues played in mid air and in each other's mouths.

Finally, Dean pulled away, reluctance clear in his eyes, his face, the set of his body, before he said - "We'd best get back to Sam, Cas. It's not fair to leave him any longer."

Castiel nodded his slow, deliberate nod, eyes never leaving Dean's face, before he said - "We always have later, Dean."

Dean laughed at that, before he nodded readily at Castiel.

"Sure, we do, Cas. There's always a later for us," he murmured, pressing another kiss to Castiel's ripe mouth gently.

Once again, they pulled apart roughly, coming to attention when they heard the report of a gun close by, shattering the perfect, too eerie silence ....

* * *

-tbc-


	4. Chapter 4

Sam was standing in the open, hair soaked flat to his head and dripping into his eyes as he stared into the distance, gun drawn and still smoking from where he'd unloaded it at some unknown adversary.

"What is it, Sam? What did you see?" Dean asked, looking tense, eyes scanning his brother's body for wounds, injuries, signs of attack yet coming up with nothing.

"I'm fine, Dean. A panther started getting a little too inquisitive, is all," Sam replied, sounding calm, distracted, not quite there and distant. "I scared him away with buck shot. He won't be back."

"So that's why the forest was so silent. Big bad panther's come out to play," Dean said, understanding now clear in his voice.

"Quite likely," Sam replied, coming back to the present full force with a blink and a tight smile.

"We'd best get moving again, guys," Castiel intoned, gruff voice sounding ominous in the thick heavy air surrounding them.

The rain slowly eased off, leaving the sun trying to break through the clouds, warming and drying everything in great steaming clouds around them, even the trio themselves. Dean stared up at the sky above them, at the still heavy clouds and Castiel watched him, admiring the fine lines of the hunter's face, the strength and tension of his neck as he scanned the clouds, the breaks in them through to the sky above. Sam turned away, catching Castiel's pointed stare, feeling uncomfortable for having caught a private moment between the lovers.

Dean cast his gaze back to earth once more, saw that Castiel was staring at him with naked need and love in his gaze, making the hunter smile, echoing love and tenderness spreading through him for the angel. He reached and caressed Castiel's cheek, fingers lingering against the angel's stubbled cheeks, before leaning in to claim a kiss for his own. Castiel's hand rested lightly on the back of Dean's neck, while his other arm was resting against Dean's hip, as the hunter continued to kiss him, both lost in their loving gesture.

Sam turned back, cleared his throat in embarrassment, before rubbing his hand through the hair curling at the nape of his neck, grinning uncomfortably and dimples flashing in the light filtering through the trees. He cleared his throat again, finally attracting the kissing couple's attention back to him once more, mouths swollen and reddened, eyes lazy and lust filled.

"Can we please focus on what we're doing, guys?" Sam asked, voice as strained as he felt right then.

"Sure thing, Sammy," Dean murmured, pressing his mouth against Castiel's briefly for one last kiss, and receiving one in return from the angel.

Castiel remained silent, even as he followed Sam and Dean from the clearing, hand wrapped possessively around Dean's fingers. Dean wondered aloud how long it would take for them to reach the right pyramid, as it felt as though they'd been trekking for ages.

"Not long, now, Dean," Castiel replied, large eyes blinking in the humid air. "I brought us as close to the site of the pyramid as I could. I didn't want to attract undue attention from the tourists."

Dean nodded and Sam grunted up ahead, but neither of the Winchesters spoke further. They continued walking, moving through the trees, nearer to their destination, clammy and wet from the heat and the rain earlier.

* * *

Dean strode into the plaza, eyes looking around curiously at the tents, arrayed around the edge of the trees, mostly hidden but for the odd scrap of rough canvas peeking in stripes of light. The temples, stelae and pyramid loomed ominously overhead, thankfully devoid of passing life of tourists for the time being. It rose up above them all, seemed to touch the sky in an attempt to snag the clouds and the hunter half imagined it served as some ancient perch for angels in millennium gone by. Castiel stood beside him, looking grim, a little uneasy, yet patience still shone through his unease as he slipped his fingers through Dean's.

Sam stood on the other side of Castiel, also staring up at the pyramid looming overhead, but he remained silent, lips pressed down tight in a thin line of scrutiny. Then he did speak, voice pitched low as though trying to avoid detection by someone unseen.

"You think anyone's here?" he asked, eyes still raised to the top of the pyramid.

"I dunno," Dean replied, gruff voice commanding in the silence. "This place looks pretty dead to me."

"I don't think it is," Castiel replied, turning bright eyes to the far edge of the man made clearing, resting upon some far off movement only he could see at that point in time.

"You sure we're in the right place? I don't wanna put a dampener on things or anything, but if what if you're wrong? What if the amulet isn't even here?" Sam asked, looking unconvinced now that they were actually at the pyramid.

"We are in the right place, Sam," Castiel said, voice determined and hard, brooking no argument from the younger Winchester. "If you like, I can always ask."

"What? Ask? There's no one even here," Sam replied, casting his gaze around the deserted plaza, gaze resting on the stelae, the trees, the pyramid itself, the temple, but there was no movement.

All was as eerily quiet as when they arrived. Castiel remained silent, didn't reply to Sam's questions or allay his confusion, just remained staring, gaze fixed on a far off point still at the edge of the plaza. He waited, nodding over where his gaze rested when Dean and Sam looked askance at him, continued staring until they directed their own gazes that way too. Soon, half naked figures emerged from the undergrowth, stiff linen cloth wrapped around their waists as they crept hesitantly forwards, wild eyes trained on the trio standing in the middle of the plaza. Still more emerged from nearby tents, everywhere, eerily silent and staring.

"I told you there were people here," Castiel stated, tone of voice smug and satisfied as he turned a gentle smile onto first Dean, then Sam.

"Hey, I didn't disbelieve you, that was Sam. You're on your own, Sammy, with this," Dean said, smiling at Sam's disbelieving retort.

"Well, you were the one who thought the Mayans had disappeared. Clearly, they haven't," Sam pointed out to his brother, who pretended not to have heard his jibe.

Castiel chuckled but didn't pass further comment, just watched as the nomadic people ranged out across the plaza before them, staring and watching them curiously.

"Hey, you speak English?" Dean called out, tired of standing there silent and stared at like he was some kind of alien.

Perhaps to these people, he was, they all were, yet still he was already tired of it. He cast a glance towards first Sam, then Castiel, eyes questioning, firm mouth pressed into a tight line as he shrugged.

"Any ideas on how to talk to these sons of bitches?" he asked, helplessly, fingers flexing against Castiel's still nestled in his hand.

"Hey, show 'em some respect, Dean," Sam admonished. "They might be able to help us, you know."

"Okay, but can you speak to 'em?" Dean asked, rolling his eyes at Castiel who gave Dean one of his brief, almost there smiles.

"No," Sam finally admitted, looking a little shame-faced and nervous.

"Fine, that's all I wanted to know, Sammy," Dean replied, before turning his gaze to Castiel. "Can you speak to 'em, Cas?"

"I dunno, Dean," Castiel replied. "I could try. My language skills are not what they were."

Dean was once again reminded of the fact that Castiel's powers were fading, trapped in a male vessel that could apparently only speak English.

"Just try your best, that's all I'm asking," Dean replied, gently, encouragingly, feeling a little guilty still that he'd been the one to do that to Castiel.

Sam barfed then made kissing noises behind Castiel's back, fluttering his eyelashes at his brother as though he thought Dean was being overly sentimental and sickly.

"Shut up, bitch," Dean said, without ever taking his eyes from Castiel's. "You're just jealous I've got myself a boyfriend."

"Screw you, jerk," Sam replied, immediately, with a laugh, not in the least bothered as to whether Dean had a boyfriend or not.

Dean didn't take any further notice of his brother, too intent on following Castiel's progress towards the nomadic people, a lone figure walking forward to meet them. The travellers seemed to be watching him warily, wide eyed, slightly suspicious, some even backing away from the approaching angel. Castiel muttered something in Enochian, perhaps asking himself how best to address the people ranged before him, as a lance of sunlight eased down from the sky, breaking through the clouds for the first time that day. The beams of light caught Castiel in their warming embrace as Dean straggled after his lover, mindful of the surrounding travellers and acting as moral support, if not actual support should anything go wrong.

He stared in wonder at Castiel lit up before him, sun shining down upon him as though blessing him, anointing him with warmth and light and the angel turned his face to the sun with a wondrous smile. Cries came from the throats of all who surrounded them, as the nomadic people dropped to their knees, hands outstretched upon the ground before them, as Dean stepped into the light beside Castiel.

"What are they doing?" Sam asked, from where he'd remained behind them.

He repeated his question again over the noise of the people chanting when neither Castiel nor Dean seemed to either hear nor reply. Castiel glanced over his shoulder at the younger Winchester, hair lighter in the sun, as the light glowed like a halo and lit his face in warm stripes.

"They're praying to us. They're acting like the Mayans used to with their deities. They think we're messengers from God," Castiel replied, with an amused tone coloring his voice and making it warmer, a twinkle setting his eyes alight.

"You are a messenger from God. You're an angel," Sam reminded him, walking forward but stopping just shy of the light that surrounded Castiel and Dean, but he remained in darkness, staring at the pair glowing in the light.

"Yes, Sam, but they don't know that," Castiel pointed out, patiently, eyes returning to the praying travellers on the ground at their feet.

"Wait a minute. They think we're both angels?" Dean asked, in surprise, but he didn't look displeased with the comparison.

"Well, they've probably never had much contact with white people before. Plus the sunlight - " and Sam pointed towards the light still streaming down upon Castiel and Dean both.

Dean's eyebrows lifted up and away from his surprised gaze as he shot his brother an amused smile.

"Well, at least they don't we're invaders, or something. It could be worse, they could be attacking us," he said, still looking uncertain.

"Yes, Dean, it could always be worse," Castiel agreed, cutting into their brief exchange a little impatiently. "At least I know their language now. I'm going to try to speak to them, see if I can find out if this truly is the right place to find the amulet."

He turned and started a rapid fire exchange with the leader of the nomadic people, nodding on occasion, eyes intent on the mostly naked people still kneeling in front of him. Finally he turned away, looking satisfied that he'd gotten somewhere.

"Great. I now know where it is," Castiel said, with a pleased smile, eyes crinkling slightly beneath the weight of his self satisfied pleasure. "We are in the right place."

"Yeah? Super. You gonna tell us where it is, then, dude?" Dean asked him, gaze flickering over his lover's face and body warily.

"It's in the pyramid," Castiel replied, gesturing over his shoulder at the stone structure rising from the ground to the heavens behind them.

"I ain't going in there," was Dean's immediate response, frown darkening his face and making him seem a little ominous.

"Dean, if you wanna help Castiel, then you gotta go in there," Sam pointed out, looking a little pissed with his brother right then.

Dean turned his bright green gaze to Sam, then to Castiel before nodding slowly, lips pouting out into an uncertain line.

"Okay, Cas, I'm doing this for you, alright? I ain't happy about going in that thing though," he said, darkly, gesturing towards the edifice behind Castiel with a sharp jab of his fingers. "There might be rats in there. I hate rats."

"I know you do, but I'm sure Cas will save you from the rats, Dean," Sam said, with an amused smile over his shoulder. "Now let's go, shall we? Unless you wanna remain out here with the nomadic people. You could sing YMCA with them."

"Screw you, you son of a bitch," Dean replied, even as he followed his brother, passing still bowing nomadic tribe prostrate on the ground all around him.

"I will save you, Dean," Castiel replied, with one of his mysterious smiles back at the goggling hunter.

Dean didn't immediately know what to say to that, just stared, before he smiled at the angel in surprise.

"Thanks, Cas," he said, uncertain as to whether he really did need saving but knowing that he'd be likely to hurt the angel's feelings if he rebuked him now.

"You're welcome," Castiel replied, leaving Sam to smile and shake his head in amusement at the lovers exchange.

He walked ahead of them, a smile still trapped on his face, thinking that Castiel and Dean seemed well suited with one another and made a sweet couple. The younger Winchester knew that he'd never tell Dean that, however, for fear of being punched for having a chick flick moment. Castiel wouldn't have been so offended and would no doubt just tilt his head in a quizzical manner at Sam for being called a sweet couple. Sam smiled again and walked ever onwards, plunging into the dark depths of the pyramid.

-TBC-


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, at least it's cooler in here," Dean observed with some relief as soon as they had trekked a reasonable distance into the pyramid's interior.

He scanned the floor in front of them, on constant lookout for rats yet coming up with nothing. He hadn't seen so much as a spider, which he thought rather odd in a place such as this. He'd expected to see spiders, snakes, rats, all manner of insects and reptiles, but yet there was nothing. The pyramid was devoid of life, except for them.

"Hey, when are we gonna get to where this amulet's kept, then?" Dean asked, looking and sounding a little bored with the seemingly never ending trek through the darkness. "We've been walking for about five hours now."

"Over-statement, Dean. It's been three minutes," Sam's voice filtered back through the darkness, moving his lamp from side to side and illuminating hieroglyphs on the walls surrounding them at every turn.

"We should be getting to the inner chamber soon, Dean," came Castiel's more patient tones, calming their way through the air and settling Dean down a little.

"Good, 'cos I'm freaking starving here. I want some food. Say, d'you think there's a McDonald's nearby?" Dean asked, sifting his feet through a nearby pile of dust and shuddering when he saw he'd kicked disintegrated human bones.

He hoped they wouldn't end up like that - a pile of soot and dust and atrophied muscles and bones on the floor of the dingy pyramid. He looked to Castiel then, beside him, who stared confidently ahead, as though he had every intention of getting the amulet and coming back out again alive, with the Winchesters in tow and everyone in one piece. Again, Castiel proved to be a calming influence and Dean smiled, wrapping his hand around Castiel's and snagging his fingers in a loose, easy grip. Castiel squeezed Dean's fingers gently and turned his half-smile onto Dean, blue eyes glimmering in the light thrown back from the lamp Sam was holding.

"We're in the middle of a Mexican rain-forest, Dean. I doubt they have a McDonald's, here," Sam replied, sounding weary. "And, no, before you ask, I don't think there's a Starbuck's or a Denny's either."

"Damn you," Dean threw at Sam's back, as though it was his brother's fault they didn't have a fast food joint nearby.

"What? It's not my fault, Dean," Sam replied, sounding amused this time, glancing over his shoulder at his brother.

Dean remained silent, an amused smile lighting his face as Castiel's distinctive bassy chuckle sounded in the dusty silence. It seemed that the angel found more things amusing these days, the longer that he stayed on Earth and the more time he spent with the Winchesters. Dean squeezed Castiel's hand again, before pressing a gentle kiss to the angel's warm, responsive mouth. Castiel's gaze remained locked with Dean's, when the kiss ended, and as a result, they almost missed the fact that Sam had long since stopped, coming to a halt in front of them. They almost walked into him, sending him flying into the antechamber beyond, pulling themselves up short before they could do so.

"What the hell?" Dean asked, peering over Sam's shoulder as his brother held up the lamp before his own body.

The flames flickered out across the chamber, lighting on piles of gold, jewels, and a stone coffin across the way, at the back of the chamber. Artefacts and long since abandoned jars lay upended, looted, ransacked and strewn across the floor, as though myriad hands had pulled them every which way in search of something unknown. Dean looked around the dusty space, hope dying in his chest at the mess surrounding them.

"I don't think we're gonna find it, dude," he said to Castiel, sadly, voice as bereft of hope as his soul, his mind, his thoughts.

"We will," Sam surprisingly said, a determined light coloring his voice and making it hard and strong.

Castiel watched as Sam strode forward, taking the light with him, leaving them in ever diminishing darkness. Dean turned to the angel when he heard him start to speak once more, gruff voice echoing from the walls around them and thrown back with weird echoes that surrounded and rebounded back upon them.

"We'd best follow him. It's bound to be here somewhere," he said, voice less harsh than Sam's had been.

Dean didn't speak again, just followed his lover into the dank confines of the antechamber, a tomb for dust and long forgotten libations of past Mayans. He started scuffling through piles of jewels, antiquated relics of bygone years that were pretty but useless in their current situation. Clouds of dust rose around him with every movement he made and he coughed, choked, sneezed multiple times on more than one occasion. Across the chamber, Sam was echoing his noises with coughs, chokes, sneezes of his own. Only Castiel remained unaffected, steadfast, eyes trained solely on the task at hand, slender fingers working steadily through piles of discarded relics of the past. It was the angel who finally found the amulet he sought, holding it triumphantly to the light and almost grinning at the discovery. Sam looked over at him and whistled to get Dean's attention.

"Cas has got it, Dean," the younger hunter said, voice rough and dry from the choking clouds of dust that were only just settling out around him.

Dean stood, glanced over at Castiel who was examining the amulet as though for discrepancies and coming up with none.

"Is it alright?" Dean asked, wondering at the close scrutiny of his lover, striding forward on echoing footfalls as he drew closer to Castiel.

"Yeah, Dean, it's fine. I just expected it to be bigger," Castiel replied, a slight hint of disappointment evident in his tone of voice.

"That's what she said," Sam replied, immediately.

Dean huffed out a sudden, surprised laugh at that, and Castiel looked up with a bright eyed gaze of confusion, but Dean waved him down, telling him with one look that it didn't matter, leave it. Castiel folded, remained silent, didn't ask what Sam had meant by his lewd comment. Sam was still grinning, dimples shadowed in his face from the ever flickering light as he came over to join his brother and his angel.

"Dude, that is the ugliest thing I've ever seen," Dean grunted out, taking the amulet from Castiel's slender hands, fingers lingering against Castiel's gently.

"If it works, I guess it doesn't really matter, Dean," Sam admonished his brother, with a sharp shake of his head at him.

"True," Dean replied, with a sharp nod.

He turned the ugly thing over in his hands, grimacing at the large beak, the sun rays emanating from the heavily stylised bird in tarnished gold held within his palm. The amulet was heavier than expected, certainly had more weight to it than it's size and fragility implied and he shuddered, handing it back to Castiel as soon as he could.

"Keep it, dude," Dean said, brushing his hands against his jeans as though wiping the remnants of the amulet from his fingers rather than the all pervading dust.

Castiel nodded wordless, slipping it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, where it bulged against the material, making his chest look a little misshapen. He looked around at the chamber surrounding them, blue eyes shining in the flickering light of the lamp, before he turned away, lips pushed out into a thoughtful frown.

"We have what we came for; we can go now," he said, turning back to the waiting brothers, standing expectantly nearby.

"Good. Now can we get some food?" Dean asked, already striding from the chamber to head out into the corridor, back to freedom, fresh air and the promise of food ahead.

"Yes, Dean, if we must," Sam sighed, voice long suffering and weary of his brother's bottomless pit of a stomach.

"There's something else I want to do first, though," Dean said, voice insistent as though expecting further argument.

Dean stopped ahead of them, before he turned to face them both, cheeks smudged with dirt and dust that threatened to blot his freckles from view. .

"I want to see the forest from the top of the pyramid, before we go," Dean said, a grin lighting up his face like a kid at Christmas.

When neither Sam nor Castiel answered, Dean's smile faded slightly, excitement seeming to leave him in a rush.

"C'mon, guys. How many times are you gonna see the Mexican rainforest from the top of a pyramid?" Dean asked, eyes shifting from Sam's face to Castiel's as though looking for moral support and coming up with none.

"I've seen it, Dean," Castiel replied. "Many years ago."

"Show it to me, then, Cas. I want to see it too," Dean said, sounding even more like the excitable little boy at Christmas than ever before.

"Okay, Dean, if you insist. Sam?" Castiel asked, turning his gaze to Sam, curiously.

Sam grinned, looking a little distasteful at the prospect of staring out at a great expanse of trees, before he shook his head at the couple firmly.

"You go ahead, knock yourselves out," he murmured. "I don't need to see it."

"Your loss, Sammy," Dean stated, turning with an excited grin, all but walking fast away from the chamber behind them.

Sam shrugged, not bothered with the situation to respond further. Castiel followed them both, brushing dust from his clothes primly, blue eyes trained on the path ahead, searching for the light at the end of the tunnel. They attained light, heat, sun, humidity far quicker than they'd left it, breaking from cover into full daylight coating the clearing outside. The nomadic people had all long since gone about their business, movements clearly heard around and about the pyramid, despite the fact that none of them could be seen.

Sam nodded at Dean and Castiel, started gathering up their abandoned packs with large hands as Castiel laid his outstretched fingers upon Dean's head. Within seconds, they were up on top of the pyramid, cool breezes from the greater height fanning their sweaty, dust covered skin and cooling them off slightly from the heat of the day and the forest surrounding them.

-tbc-


	6. Chapter 6

Dean grinned in wonder at the expanse of trees surrounding them, flowing like the sea in its all embracing surrounding beauty. He walked from Castiel's side, to stand at one edge of the pyramid's flattened top, shading his gaze from the brightness of the sun shining down in full force upon him.

Dean looked out over the forest surrounding the pyramid, thick lush trees that swayed in the wind picking up from the north and sending warmth across the exposed skin if his forearms. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand, touched his lips with his tongue in an attempt to wet their dry surfaces, wishing he'd brought some water to the top of the stone structure with him.

"I brought you some water, Dean," Castiel intoned, gruff voice breaking into Dean's concentrated stare upon the horizon and making the hunter partially turn towards him.

"Thanks, Cas," Dean replied, trying for innocence as though he'd known that Castiel was there all along. "I didn't think you could read my mind anymore."

"I can't, but the need for water is a universal one. It stood to reason, at least to me, that you'd be thirsty," Castiel replied, blue eyes scanning the horizon and seeming to reflect the sky above and turning their depths more mysterious than usual.

Dean didn't know what to say to that, surprised by Castiel's perceptiveness. The angel seemed so attuned to Dean's wants, needs, desires, it seemed at times as though he could read Dean's mind, could access his thoughts and provide everything he wanted. Sometimes Dean forgot about the Enochian sigils engraved upon his ribs, hiding his own body from Castiel when they were apart, shielding his thoughts from him also.

At one time, Dean would have welcomed the break from Castiel's all invasive mind, but now, he missed the cool touch, the tickling tendrils of Castiel's consciousness trickling through him. Even so, he knew that they did fine as they were, Castiel still seemed to know what was best for Dean, inasmuch as Dean knew what was good for Castiel.

He drank, pulled on the neck of the flask with greedy, parched lips, throat moving, bobbing against the flow of water working over his tongue and on into his stomach. Castiel watched him, eyes intense and heavy upon the hunter, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his coat as though the heat didn't bother him. Dean wondered if anything bothered the angel at all and thought that maybe not a lot id.

He smiled at the angel, smiled still wider when Castiel stepped closer, unbidden, closing the space between them until their bodies almost touched. Dean didn't pull away, didn't tell Castiel about personal space as he once would have. Instead he enjoyed the close contact with Castiel, encouraged it since they'd started a relationship. He always looked for an excuse to touch the angel, cuddle him, kiss him, run his hands over his body in smooth caresses, tender gestures against silken skin.

Castiel smiled slightly, the briefest upturn of his lips giving his face a gentler cast, softening the harsh lines of his cheeks and making him seem more fragile, more human, more beautiful. Dean leant in slowly, almost expected Castiel to ghost away as though a frightened rabbit trapped in the headlights of Dean's intent but he didn't. Instead he remained where he was, waiting, eyes resting upon Dean's lips as though waiting for the promised kiss and not wanting to leave or move away without it.

Dean fulfilled his intent, claimed Castiel's soft mouth with his own, lips working against responsive eager lips, water long since forgotten between them. Dean's hands travelled down between their bodies, cupped Castiel's already hard dick with his hand, squeezed to show his untent, before he started to rub at the angel's erection through the dark material of his pants. Castiel pulled away from the kiss, eyes closed, lips parted into a ripe pout, shining in the light as his hips moved in time with Dean's questing hand.

Finally, Castiel shook his head insistently, stepping away from Dean with an obvious struggle and openinig his eyes to stare at Dean. His pupils were blown wide, making his eyes look black instead of the prettiest of blues, eyelids half closed suddenly and making him look wanton and needy as his gasps cut through the air to batter Dean's senses.

"No, Dean," Castiel said, voice gruffer than usual, turned darker with his need and his lust for the hunter. "I want to come when I'm inside you. I want to feel you beneath me, around me when I find release."

Dean groaned, dick painfully hard beneath his jeans as he thought over the implications of Castiel's words, felt turned on by the thought that Castiel wanted to fuck him.

"Yes, Cas," Dean forced out, nodding slowly at the angel before him. "Please."

Castiel smiled, hands grappling at his clothes and removing them easier than Dean did his own, fingers more certain, though no less needy. Finally they were both naked, skin exposed to the light and the warm air blowing across the top of the pyramid and Dean couldn't help but think he was offering himself up as a willing sacrifice to Castiel in much the same way as the ancient Mayans offered sacrifices to their own gods. He sat upon the dusty stone beneath his feet, before laying down upon the warm stones, legs wide open as invitation to his lover.

Castiel stared down at him, tongue lapping out to wet his suddenly dry lips, as he stared down at Dean spread out at his feet, eager, ready, hard, waiting for Castiel to take him. Dean's erection curled up towards his abdomen and Castiel groaned when Dean started touching himself, fingers playing lazily over his dick as he waited.

Castiel spat on his hand, knelt between the safe confines of Dean's legs, elbows resting momentarily upon the hunter's knees, before easing one wet finger inside his lover, spreading him wide and waiting for the hiss, the shift of tension and pain to ease from Dean's face and body. The angel watched as the tense planes of Dean's face smoothed out into in expectant smile, before easing himself still further in, stretching and twisting inside the lover and preparing him for his dick.

Dean whimpered, eyes closing as Castiel worked him loose, adding another finger to stretch him still further. He angled his hips higher, giving Castiel better access, moving slightly in time with the angel's stroking fingers. Finally, Castiel pulled away and Dean opened his eyes once more, to watch as the angel smoothed saliva over his dick, with aroused moans working loose from his throat. Castiel's hips rocked in time with his stroking hand, as he continued touching himself, head thrown back to the sky. Dean watched him, mouth open, dick straining as he waited impatiently for his lover to finish.

Finally, Castiel's hand dropped away and the angel covered Dean's body eagerly with his own, mewls of purling arousal already falling from his lips. Dean angled his legs still wider, felt Castiel ease his dick inside him, barely waiting for the tension to pass from Dean's body before fully sheathing himself inside his lover's tight channel, a long shiddering groan working past parted ripe lips. Castiel's eyes seemed blinded to everything but the pleasure he felt at the feel of Dean surrounding him, fitting in closely around his dick as he started to move inside Dean, thrusting into him slowly, hips rolling languidly against hips.

Dean's hands grappled with Castiel's ass, pressed down firmly to try and get Castiel to thrust in deeper still. Castiel moaned and rolled in tighter, firmer, head of his cock hitting Dean's prostate and making him squirm, moan and cry out for Castiel when the angel's thrusts became more forceful, filled with needy intent.

Dean started touching himself, fingers curled tight around his straining erection as Castiel continued to fuck into him steadily, grunts of exertion soon purling and mingling with mewls of need. Dean thrust his hips up to meet Castiel's every time that his lover withdrew, needing Castiel inside him for as long as possible.

Castiel thrust harder still into Dean' movements harsh, needy, fast, moans turning louder into cries and taking flight to the skies above them. Warm breezes played over his skin as he thrust harder still, feeling his time coming nearer, descending upon him with irreversible speed, delivered on black wings of shadowy intent and he screamed as he filled Dean with his come, marked his lover with his spend and his sweat, scratches from his fingers raising red welts over the fragile skin of hunter's arms.

Dean saw Castiel unravel over him, felt his seed inside him, saw the rapture and the pleasure washing over his lover's face as Castiel climaxed above him. Dean felt a backwash of love pour through him from Castiel, emotions so strong and mirrored by his own feelings of love pushed back into Castiel's body. The wrench of sending strong emotions upwards and outwards pulled his orgasm from his body, and he spilled his release in thick strands over his hand, over his abdomen, marking Castiel's abdomen with his spend.

His cries mingled with those of his lovers, with those of the parrots that took flight to the skies in arrays of bright colors and sunlight, harsh cries a discordant note against their loving moans. Castiel pulled away, soft member easing from Dean's ass as he laid beside him, tender hands travelling over Dean's body in sweaty swathes as he caressed him. Dean leant in and claimed a messy kiss from Castiel's gaping mouth, all open mouths and questing sloppy tongues.

From nearby, Dean's phone started to ring, and Dean groaned into Castiel's wet, responsive, warm mouth in agony. Castiel drew away, eyes scanning Dean's face, his body, as though fearful of having hurt his lover inadvertently.

"No, Cas, you're fine. I'm not in pain," Dean assured Castiel as he stroked the angel's arm gently. "It's Sam. He has the knack of calling at the most inappropriate of times."

Castiel gave Dean his ethereal, mysterious smile, before he said - "I told you before, there is always a later for us."

Dean smiled at the angel, before nodding at him.

"You're right, again," he said, before responding to Sam's call irritably.

By the time he told Sam they'd be right down, that it seemed as though they'd finished their little sight seeing excursion, and hung up, Castiel had dressed, standing primly off to one side as he waited for Dean himself to get dressed. The hunter hefted the Mayan amulet in one putstretched palm, before glancing up to Castiel's serene expression once more.

"Any proof this thing will work, dude?" the hunter asked, suddenly feeling a stab of empathy for the angel beside him.

"I don't know, Dean. I can but try it," Castiel replied, looking a little lost and helpless for the briefestt of instants, making Dean's heart ache a little for him.

"Hey, Cas. I know what it's like to go search for your father. I had to do that a few years back. I found him in the end, or rather he found me and Sam," he said. "I'm sure you'll find your own dad. You know I've got your back, right? Any time you need help, I'll give it, okay?"

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel replied, looking genuinely touched by the hunter's words, his show of solidarity. "I will remember that."

"No problem, dude. That's what friends - _lovers_ - are for," Dean replied, frowning a little as he corrected himself.

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel replied again, smiling a little more happily at the hunter now.

It seemed as though Dean had said the right thing again, by calling the angel a friend and a lover, and Dean smiled tenderly at Castiel. He didn't object when Castiel closed the distance between them, pressed his soft mouth against his firmer one and was lost to the kiss and the angel in his arms. Both Dean and Castiel were left breathless by the simplicity, the almost chaste thankfulness of the kiss itself, and were both left staring at one another, love exchanged freely between them with one weighted gaze.

"We'd best get back to Sam," Castiel replied, voice pitched low and soft as though frightened of breaking the perfection of the moment.

"Yeah," Dean replied, taking Castiel's warm hand, as the angel pressed his free hand to Dean's forehead.

They were beside Sam in the blink of an eye and the younger Winchester did not look happy at having been made to wait so long. Yet still, he didn't say anything to them, fully aware that the only sightseeing Dean and Castiel had done had been in each other. He turned away, then turned back when Castiel's strong hand rested upon his shoulder. Then the world disappeared in a backwash of light and beating wings, wind and almost overbearing noise, before they were back in the same motel room they'd started off in.

Not one of them knew whether their trip had been fruitless, but Castiel knew as well as Dean and Sam themselves did, that the simplest of hopes was better than no hope at all ...

-fini-


End file.
